Photo:

Alameda County Fairgrounds

Track management and horse owners reportedly have been given
until Monday to come to terms on a purse structure for the new, north-state
fall meet that the California Horse Racing Board has penciled in for an Oct. 19
start.

Golden State Racing, the management company set up by the
California Association of Racing Fairs, and the Thoroughbred Owners of
California have to put a signed agreement in the hands of the CHRB by the close
of business Monday in order for the meet to go ahead, according to a BloodHorse
report covering Thursday’s CHRB meeting in Sacramento.

Larry Swartzlander of GSR and Bill Nader of the TOC met on
the side away from a lengthy debate by the board, BloodHorse reported, and
came to a verbal agreement that said if the budget goes more than $400,000 in
the red, purses will be reduced.

The CHRB made the Monday deadline a condition of the license
it granted to GSR, which has planned a 26-day meet to run from Oct. 19 to Dec.
15 at the Alameda County Fair track in Pleasanton, Calif.

GSR and the TOC were reported to be about $180,000 apart.
Management called for a $4.24 million purse budget with an average of about
$163,000 a day. The owners group wants $4.42 million in purses and a daily average
of $170,000.

In contrast, Golden Gate Fields cut its purses 25 percent in
its final winter season because of a $3 million shortfall, leaving its daily
average at $129,485. The track in Albany, Calif., was closed by The Stronach
Group in June, leading to the creation of the Pleasanton fall meet to try and
fill the void for Northern California.

Much of Thursday’s meeting reportedly was spent debating the
budget challenges as well as the bigger picture for California. Stakeholders in
the south do not support a meet in the north, because it dilutes the already
thin revenue stream that has led to a series of purse reductions statewide. The
argument in the north is that jobs and livelihoods could be lost, not to
mention the incentive to breed Thoroughbreds in that part of the state.

Thursday’s CHRB session was not streamed live
on the internet because of a power failure at the Cal Expo meeting site, a board spokesperson said.
It was held nevertheless, since the open public-meeting law in California does
not have a requirement for net streaming.